The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 272 No 7297 p531
1 May 2004

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New ID cards could protect NHS resources

Use of ID cards would benefit the NHS, health minister John Hutton said this week.

“ID cards would help us meet our responsibilities to ensure that the resources of the NHS are used in providing care for those who are legally entitled to receive it,” Mr Hutton explained. “They will act as a deterrent to abuse of NHS resources.”

Health Secretary John Reid said this week that the NHS has to be defended from abuse or fraud, whether by so-called “health tourists” or by others.

However, Dr Reid stressed the the importance of cultural diversity in the NHS. “There is no place for discrimination or harassment in the NHS on grounds of race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion or age,” he commented.